World Series: A tale of two baseball cities

Saturday

Oct 26, 2013 at 6:48 PMOct 27, 2013 at 1:16 AM

ST. LOUIS — There is no way to prove this in a court of law, or even on Judge Judy, but this city doesn't take itself quite as seriously as does Boston when it comes to sports. That's not saying it's a bad thing, either.

By Bill Ballou, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

ST. LOUIS — There is no way to prove this in a court of law, or even on Judge Judy, but this city doesn't take itself quite as seriously as does Boston when it comes to sports.

That's not saying it's a bad thing, either.

Take their two comparable superstars of the 20th century, Ted Williams and Stan Musial.

Williams played 19 years, all for the Red Sox, and hit .344 with 521 home runs and 1,839 RBIs. Musial played 22 years, all for the Cardinals, and hit .331 with 475 homers and 1,951 RBIs.

Those statistics are even — like the World Series entering Saturday night's Game 3.

But Williams was distant from the fans, never tipping his cap, prone to fits of pique, and when the year ended he headed off to warmer weather, chasing the biggest fish he could find. Musial made St. Louis his permanent home and all the years he lived there, had his name in the phone book.

In 2004, when the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years at old Busch Stadium here, Cardinals fans were almost as happy about it as the Red Sox fans on hand were. The Cards kept the stadium open indefinitely for those who traveled from Boston, so they could join in the celebration.

At Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, arriving passengers are greeted by signs that say "St. Louis Welcomes Red Sox Fans." At Logan International Airport in Boston, someone handling luggage asks a traveler how he thinks the World Series will turn out and, when he is told "Cardinals in six," responds with, "Hmmm ... I hope this bag makes it to St. Louis."

There are the normal differences between an East Coast city and one in the Central Time Zone. Around here, you might see a restaurant advertising "Make Your Reservations Now for Our Thanksgiving Lobster Buffet," and when the sign says, "Don't Walk," nobody does — even if the only car in sight has just crossed into Missouri from Iowa.

The Red Sox and Cardinals are teams in separate leagues, playing in cities separated by 1,050 miles, so there are bound to be differences. Boston and St. Louis may be more alike than different, though, depending on the perspective.

They have long been intertwined in sports. This is the fourth World Series for the Sox and Cardinals, with St. Louis having a 2-1 lead. The Celtics and old St. Louis Hawks met four times in the NBA finals, with Boston winning three of those matchups.

The Patriots' first Super Bowl victory was over the St. Louis Rams. Bobby Orr scored the most celebrated goal in NHL history to beat the St. Louis Blues in the 1969-70 Stanley Cup finals.

Both cities once had teams in both the American and National Leagues and lost one of them. The Braves departed Boston for Milwaukee in 1953; the Browns left here for Baltimore in 1954.

The sidewalks outside both their ballparks are decorated with statues of their all-time greats — Williams and Carl Yastrzemski in Boston; Musial, Bob Gibson, Rogers Hornsby, Enos Slaughter and more in St. Louis.

Both cities have restaurants a block from the stadium named after popular player-broadcasters. Here, it's Mike Shannon's. In Boston, it's Jerry Remy's.

Both cities are next to famous bodies of water. St. Louis sits on the banks of the Mississippi River, where it's about a 400-yard swim due east to Illinois. Boston looks out over the Atlantic Ocean, where it's about a 3,150 swim due east to Porto, Portugal.

Downtown here is awash in red, and fans were here at 2 in the afternoon, well before the gates opened, wandering around Busch Stadium just taking in the World Series atmosphere. In the lobby of the nearby Hilton Hotel, people were lined up a souvenir stand, buying Cardinals T-shirts as the proprietor held $100 bills to the daylight to make sure they were the real thing.

The Cardinals have been around nine years longer than the Red Sox. They've won the World Series 11 times, most recently in 2011. Boston has won it six times, most recently in 2007. So maybe that's why people here are as passionate about their baseball as the ones in Boston, but don't seem to take it so seriously.